When In Dreams
by Ghostwriter
Summary: The team gets a case in Springwood, Ohio and finds out that all is not as it seems.
1. Sleep Murder

WHEN IN DREAMS

DISCLAIMER

Nightmare On Elm Street/Criminal Minds crossover. Nightmare On Elm Street is a franchise about a bunch of kids getting slaughtered in their sleep. Got the idea from the episode "Birthright", which had Rodney Eastman a.k.a. "Joey Crusel" from NOES 3 & 4. This ignores the death of Rod, Nancy, Lt. Thompson, Kristen, Joey, Kincaid, and Rick. Alice and Jacob live with Rick. Uses the concept of the Dream Police that was pitched but never used. NOES belongs to Wes Craven and New Line Cinema and Criminal Minds belongs to CBS. I use a line from NOES 1 and Krueger's sweater is the one from the first film.

CHAPTER ONE: SLEEP MURDER

In a sprawling house, in a small, suburban town called Springwood, Ohio, everything suggested an aura of tranquility. Stars shone in the sky, and the night was only broken by the occasional chirp of a cricket. However, in one house, things were not as peaceful as they seemed. A sixteen-year old boy was in his bed, tossing and turning, trapped in a nightmare.

_The boy looked around. Where was he? Pipes hissed, releasing steam. A strange, high-pitched sound filled the air. He gasped. What was that? A strange chuckling filled the air. With another gasp, he took off running. _He moaned and sweat poured down his face. _ There was a shout of triumph and pounding footsteps told the boy that someone was giving chase. He panted. _ _He couldn't believe this was happening._ _All because he had run out of Hypnocil and had forgotten to get more. _He moaned again. He just wanted to wake up. Why couldn't he wake up? _ Without warning, he tripped and fell down a flight of stairs._

_"What the heck? They weren't there a minute ago," he said. There was another chuckle--closer this time. The boy stood up and looked around, panting nervously._ _He had to get out of this place--but how? He quickly made a decision and hurried down the hall. Suddenly, he came across what seemed to be an exit._

_"Yes! Thank God!" he gasped. He opened the door. To his horror, a man in a red-and-green sweater stood in his front of him. He cackled and waved his right hand, which was covered by a glove with four razors._

_"__**This**__…is god," he taunted. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the boy was flung forward. The door slammed shut and then came a blood-curdling scream._ The next morning, his parents came into his room.

"Kyle? Honey, are you up yet?" his mother questioned. There was no answer.

"Kyle? Sweetheart?" his mother asked again. Again, there was no answer.

"Kyle? Kiddo?" his father questioned. He stepped forward and he felt something stick to his foot. _No_, he thought to himself. With trepidation, he pulled the sheet up. His wife screamed. Their son was lying in the bed, slashed to ribbon.

"Why didn't he tell us he was out of Hypnocil?" the woman questioned, as her husband grabbed the cell phone off his son's nightstand and began dialing. The phone picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" a voice asked.

"Donald, he killed my boy," the man reported.

"Okay. We'll be right there," the man promised. He hung up and his wife fell into his arms, sobbing.


	2. The New Case

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to CBS and Wes Craven and New Line Cinema. I use some characters from Nightmare On Elm Street 1. All capitals are intentional.

At the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, two days later, SSA Agents Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, Analyst Penelope Garcia, Aaron Hotchner, SSA Dr. Spenser Reid, and Senior SSA David Rossi were gathered around their desk.

"Okay, JJ, what've we got?" Derek asked.

"Kyle Buckner, sixteen-years old, slashed to death with what appears to have been four razors," JJ answered.

"Dang, who would do that?" Emily wondered.

"That's what some of his relatives want us to find out. According to them, Kyle was the third kid to die," JJ replied.

"And we're just now being told about this?" Rossi questioned.

"Yeah. For some reason everyone else just wanted it to be hushed up…including his parents," JJ told them.

"Why? That makes no sense," Reid stated.

"Seriously. If there's some kind of serial killer on the loose, you'd think the locals would **want** extra help," Derek agreed.

"Well, we'll be going anyway. Everyone gear up," Rossi instructed. Everyone did so, and moments later, they were on a plane.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Reid questioned.

"Springwood, Ohio," Rossi answered as everyone looked at their information. Or rather, the lack thereof.

"This is really weird. There's no information on this town at all," Emily commented.

"Almost like they don't want people to know something," Morgan mused.

"Yeah, but the question is: **why**? What would be so bad a whole town would want to erase its existence?" Emily wondered. Meanwhile, at the home of Kyle Buckner, Captain Donald Thompson, Lt. Ernesto Garcia, and Sgt. Frank Parker were canvassing the scene along with some other officers.

"Nothing. No sign of forced entry or footsteps, or anything. It's definitely him, Sir," Sgt. Parker answered. Before he could continue, a small group of people came up.

"We saw Kyle. It's a total mess," one of the men said.

"No joke. He looked like he had been filleted," another man--an African-American stated.

"Kincaid," one of the women hissed, jabbing him in the side with an elbow. Captain Thompson looked at the officers. Joseph "Joey" Crusel, Roland Kincaid, Kristen Parker, Rick Johnson, his sister Alice, her son Jacob, Rod Lane, and his daughter Nancy were a formidable team. They were the Dream Police, officers who patrolled the Dream World protecting Springwood from the terror known as Fred Krueger.

"What I don't understand is how he even **had** a dream," Nancy commented.

"Maybe he forgot to take his Hypnocil," Joey suggested.

"But that's why we started mixing it into the food. In case someone forgets to take a pill," Kristen reminded him. While this conversation was going on, Sgt. Parker had gotten a call on his radio.

"Uh, Sir?" he asked after a while.

"What is it, Parker?" Cp. Thompson questioned.

"We've got a problem," Sgt. Parker stated.

"You mean besides--" Cp. Thompson began to ask.

"'Fraid so. The FBI's on its way," Sgt. Parker told them.

"Oh, great. That's just what we need: a bunch of feds muckin' up the works," Kincaid complained.

"How long did they say they'd be?" Cp. Thompson questioned.

"Dispatch said a couple hours," Sgt. Parker answered.

"Okay, that gives us a little bit of time to come up with a cover story," Cp. Thompson commented.

"How should I act this time, Daddy? Ditzy or hard-core?" Nancy wondered.

"Hard core," Rod answered before her father could. "You look so hot and sexy when you're all bad,' he continued, slinging an arm around her neck and leaning into her.

"Rod!" Nancy chided in embarrassment. Kincaid, Joey, Kristen, Rick, and Alice stifled laughs while Jacob merely rolled his eyes.

"Well, there's nothing more we can do right now, so you guys go back to the station and right up your reports," Cp. Thompson replied.

"Yes, Sir," the group said together, and then walked away. Nancy blew a breath. She almost couldn't believe that there had been another killing. They were so few and far between since the Dream Police had come about. And now the F.B.I. was getting involved. This wouldn't end well. Two hours later, the BAU team met Nancy in an interrogation room.

"Look, I don't know why you're even here. We have everything under control," Nancy told them.

"Ma'am, three kids have already died and for some reason, this town doesn't seem to want a put a stop to it," Agent Morgan responded.

"Of course we want it stopped. But you can't help us. You'll only get in the way," Nancy shot back.

"Miss Thompson--" David began.

"No!" Nancy interrupted. "We've worked for years to keep this contained to Springwood! And now we have you yahoos here who will only take over the case and than proceed to completely muck it up!" she shouted.

"Miss Thompson, we only want to help," Emily said.

"You want to help? Then get out of our town," Nancy told them. With that, she walked out of the room. For a moment, the team was silent.

"Well, that didn't go very well, did it?" Spencer questioned.


	3. First Nightmare

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven, New Line Cinema, and CBS. I only own the plot.

That night, the team met in their hotel suite, which had adjoining rooms, one for the men and the other for the women.

"Well, what do you guys make of it?" Morgan wondered.

"Well, Officer Thompson seemed pretty uptight," Dr. Reid stated.

"Yeah, she made it crystal clear that she did **not** want our help," Prentiss agreed.

"But they all seem to know what's going on," Rossi commented.

"If that's the case, why wouldn't they let us help them?" J.J. wondered.

"Yeah, it's weird all right," Morgan mused. Then, he stretched and yawned. "Excuse me everyone, but I think I'm gonna hit the sack," he stated.

"Night," the others said. The man then went into the boys' room and lay down on a bed. Within minutes, he was asleep. _ Morgan looked around the hallway._ _ What was this place, and how had he gotten here?_

_"Hello?" he questioned as he started down the hall. Something hissed and Morgan jumped before he realized that it was just the pipes above his head. SCREE! The officer flinched at the ear-splitting sound. _ _What was going on?_

_"Hello?" he asked again. The only answer was another screech._ _Morgan unstrapped his gun from his holster and pointed the weapon in the direction of the sound. "Who's there?" he questioned._

_"Help me! Help me, please!" he heard a girl shout in fright. He quickened his pace. As he did so, he heard kids singing._

_One, two, Freddy's coming for you._

_Three, four, better lock your door._

_Five, six, grab your crucifix._

_Seven, eight, gonna stay up late._

_Nine, ten, never sleep again._

_"Hello? Is someone here?" he questioned._

_"Help me! I'm over here!" the girl shouted._ _He headed for the voice. "Hurry! Please, hurry!" the girl cried. Morgan continued on his way, but stopped when he finally saw a girl about eight years old._

_"Honey, are you okay?" he asked, keeping the gun pointed away from her._

_"We have to hurry. He's coming," the girl said._

_"What is this place?" Derek wondered._

_"Come on, we better hurry," the girl answered, ignoring the question. Though suspicious, he followed her. As he did so, the screes continued and the pipes hissed._ _"Hurry, this way!" the girl urged, quickening her pace. When they finally stopped, Derek was dismayed to find that they were at a dead end._

_"Hey, is this supposed to be a joke?" he demanded. _ _The girl giggled. "Oh, this isn't a joke…" Before the officer's astonished eyes, she began to grow taller into she had turned into a man wearing a brown fedora and a dirty red-and-green sweater. _ _"__**Detective**__," the man growled. Derek quickly raised his gun and fired. The man disappeared in a cloud of smoke. __**What the--? Where'd he go?**__ Morgan wondered. Without warning, his gun was knocked to the ground. With a gasp, he turned around. To his surprise, the man was standing in front of him without even a scratch. The officer lashed out with a punch, which surprisingly made the man stagger. The officer took advantage of the momentary lull to run off. SCREE! Derek gasped._

_"Somebody, help me!" he cried. He heard the man laugh. Then, cries of terror filled the air. __**What's going on around here?**__ he wondered. _

_"Hey, help! Help! AAAAAH!" a boy screamed. Suddenly, Derek felt himself pitching forward and he fell down a flight of stairs. There was a chuckle. When Derek looked up, he found himself staring at the man from before._

_"Who--who are you?" he asked. The man only laughed again, and raised his right hand. Derek's eyes widened at the four gleaming blades. Then, he struck._

_"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _With a gasp, Derek bolted straight up.


	4. The Dream Police

SHOUT OUT/ANSWERS

Sue1313: Yep. We'll see. Thanks.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven, New Line Cinema, and CBS. I only own the plot. I'm not sure whether to use Dr. Reid or just Reid, so I may interchange them. One scene inspired by Dream Master. From what I gather, Kristen had been trying to use the pain to get Alice to wake up.

Derek panted, trying to calm his pounding heart as Dr. Reid and Rossi jerked awake. The door flung open to reveal Prentiss and JJ, who both had their guns drawn.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Girls, it's all right," Rossi assured.

"Are you sure? We heard screaming," Prentiss said.

"Everything's fine. I just had the weirdest dream," Morgan answered.

"Yeah, I was having a bit of a bad dream myself," Prentiss commented.

"Yeah. What was it about?" Morgan asked.

"Oh, I was in this weird place with pipes and steam, and there was this horrible noise--like--" Prentiss began.

"Likes nails on a chalkboard," Morgan finished.

"Yes," Prentiss confirmed.

"Did--did you see anybody there?" Morgan asked.

"See anybody?" Prentiss echoed.

"You know, like a man, or a--a little girl--or anyone?" Morgan pressed.

"No. I didn't see anybody, but I heard someone--a man. He was laughing," Prentiss answered.

"Morgan, what happened to your shirt?" JJ wondered.

"Huh?" Morgan asked. He looked down and then groaned. "Man, I really liked this shirt," he complained.

"You said you had a dream. What'd you dream about?" Prentiss asked.

"I was also in that place you mentioned--I think it might have been a boiler room. Anyway, I'm walking, and I hear these kids start to sing. It was this really weird, really **freaky** rhyme. And then there was the little girl, and she told me to follow her, so I did, but she just led me to a dead end. Then all of a sudden she turned into this weird guy with knives for fingers," Morgan told them.

"Oh! How creepy!" Prentiss said, shivering.

"Prentiss, did you see anyone in your dream?" Morgan questioned. She shook her head.

"I didn't see anybody, but I think I might've heard your weird guy," she answered.

"Dreams are sometimes brought on events we go through in the day, or whatever he or she may have seen. Can you think of anything that could've manifested itself into your dream?" Reid queried.

"Kid, I have never watched anything that had a boiler room, and I have **certainly** never been **in** a boiler room," Morgan replied a bit harshly. Then, before Reid could say anything, "But it was a good hypothesis." Reid nodded, indicating that he realized that Morgan hadn't meant the words how they had sounded. Meanwhile, the Dream Police was patrolling the Dream World. _Joey silently walked down the steps of the boiler room. So far, it was pretty quiet. SCREE!_

_"So much for the quiet," he muttered to himself. A girl screamed! He quickened his pace. His eyes widened when he saw Krueger cornering a girl about fifteen._

_"NOOOOOOO!" he yelled. The room shook and Joey took the opportunity to swing himself down the stairs and knock the man away. __He then turned to the girl and slammed her against the wall._

_"Wake up and get out!" he told her, using a hand to slap her across the face. She gasped and looking down, she saw her body dematerializing._

_"Thank you," she said, before she disappeared. Krueger growled and lunged at him. Joey grunted as he was knocked to the ground._

_"Bad little Piggy," Krueger spat out, his knives clacking together and straddling him._

_"Guys, help!" Joey shouted. He raised an arm in defense. A shot rang out. Krueger roared in pain and toppled away. Joey scrambled to his feet and ran to his friends._

_"You're getting better all the time, Dr. Thompson," Joey said._ _Nancy smiled and un-cocked the gun._

_"Nice trick, Nancy," Krueger chuckled, standing up. "Now see mine!" With that, the room began to spin and the group was knocked in different_ _directions. __When they all landed, they found themselves in different rooms. Rod looked around in confusion. Where was he? This didn't look familiar. He didn't have a room like this. Then, it hit him. He __**did**__ know the room. He just hadn't seen it in years. Not since…the incident._

_"No," he said in dread. The bed began to shake. Unable to stop himself, Rod walked up to the bed and pulled back the bedcovers. Just as he expected, Tina was thrashing about on the_ _bed. _

_"No. __No, Tina, wake up!" he shouted, running to her. However, he was pushed back by an invisible force._

_"ROD!" Tina shouted as she was lifted into the air._

_"NO! TINA!" Rod screamed._


	5. Nightmare Traps

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Sue1313: Thanks, glad you think so. Well, I wasn't sure if I was gonna incorporate any of the arcs into the story, but I'll think about it. Thanks.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven, New Line Cinema, and CBS.

_As Rod continued to scream for Tina, Nancy whirled around in her own location._

_"Rod?" she asked. She ran to the door and jiggled the knob. "Rod!" she shouted, pounding on the door. "It's just an illusion!" she_ _continued, hoping that her friend could hear_ _her._

_"Nancy?" a voice called. She froze. "Nancy?" the voice called again._

_"Glen?" she queried. She turned around._

_"Nancy, help me!" Glen called. __**No. This can't be. It's just Krueger trying to trick me**_, _Nancy thought to her_s_elf. "Nancy! Help me, please!" Glen cried. _ _Nancy gasped. The boy continued to cry out, and the woman inhaled shakily. __**Easy**__, she coached her_s_elf. She refocused on the door and tried to get it open, ignoring the cries of her old_ _boyfriend. Finally, she was able to force it open. She took off quickly._

_"Rod?" she asked. In his room, Rod tried to get to Tina. He couldn't see this again. He just couldn't!_

_"ROD! ROD! NO! ROD!" Tina shouted. _

_"Tina!" he shouted. There was a cackle. Rod felt his face drain. It was Krueger. He wasn't sure if he could still do this. Before his very eyes, the man materialized._

_"No," he said hoarsely. Krueger laughed. "TI--I--I--INA!" he screamed. The girl was dropped unceremoniously onto the bed. Krueger laughed and waved._

_"Bye-bye. Bye-bye," he said, and then disappeared. The cycle began again. He ran towards the door, and after struggling with the knob, managed to open the entrance and leave._ _ However, the events still played in his head. Suddenly, Tina was right in front of him!_

_"Tina," he whispered, reaching out for her. _

_"It was your fault, Rod," Tina said accusingly._

"_No. No, baby, I tried," Rod objected, shaking his head. _

_"You knew it was more than a nightmare! You __**knew**__!" Tina screamed._

_"No, baby. I didn't know what was going on, I swear!" Rod insisted. _

_"You knew!" Tina cried again._

_"Screw you, Krueger! I know you're just tryin' to get to me!" Rod_ shouted. _Tina disappeared and Rod quickly ran out of the_ _room. Rick looked around at his surroundings. _ _Where exactly was he? SCREE! He gasped. Krueger chuckled. The man's eyes darkened._

_"Playing games again Krueger?" he questioned. Krueger chuckled again. "Well, come on! What are you waiting for? _ _Come and get me!" he called._ _SCREE! He gasped. Maybe goading Krueger hadn't been the best idea. _ _The sound came again, and he whirled around in_ _surprise. When Krueger chuckled again, Rick noted that he sounded_ _closer. With a determined breath, Rick willed himself into_ _Martial Arts gear._

_"Okay, Krueger. Enough clowning around," he stated. The man chuckled again._

_"As you wish," he responded. Rick gasped as the man suddenly appeared in front of him. Then, he blocked an attack. Soon, the two were in the middle of an intense fight._ _ Meanwhile, Kincaid had found himself in basement of the boiler room. _

"_Oh, terrific," he said in annoyance. SCREE!_ _ He jumped. __**Man, I **__**really**__** don't need this**__, he thought to him_self. _SCREE! He hurried down the hall. As he did so, he could hear the faint sounds of fighting. He wasn't sure how he could be hearing Krueger here if he was somewhere else, but he wasn't waiting around to_ _find out. There was a loud cackle and the boy quickened his pace. He--he--had to get out._

_"Kris? Joey?" he asked, as he ran down the_ _steps. Suddenly, he pitched forward. He landed in a heap at the bottom. Something clanged shut and he stood up. _

_"What the heck?" he questioned, realizing he was in a cage. What was Krueger getting at?_

_"What the heck is he doing now?" the boy_ _wondered._ _He shook the bars. "What's the matter, Freddy? Afraid I'm gonna beat you?" he asked. There was no answer. "KRUEGER! COME OUT AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!" Kincaid challenged, slapping the bars. _ _Joey looked around at his location. His face paled._

"_No. No, no, no, no, no!" he shouted. He ran to the door and began pounding on it. "Let me out of here!" he shouted again. His hands explored the door, desperately trying to find a knob, to no avail. __**No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!**__His mind screamed. This couldn't be happening! Joey pounded on the door frantically. _ _He had to get out! There was a skid as something shifted and Joey came to a horrifying conclusion: the already small room was becoming even smaller._


	6. Officers Down

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Sue1313: Well, hang on just a little big longer. Thanks. Here you go.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven, New Line Cinema, and CBS. And the BAU knows Donald's a Captain because they were introduced when they first got to Springwood. I use a line from NOES 1. Reference to The Dream Child.

_Joey panted nervously and tried to stop the shifting room.  
"Somebody! Help me!" he cried. Maniacal laughter filled the room. __**This isn't happening! This isn't happening! This **__**isn't**__** happening!**__ Joey thought to himself. He continued to throw himself against the door. He had to get out!_ Meanwhile, after Derek and Prentiss' dreams, the BAU had been reviewing the case, when Prentiss had noticed a couple of ambulances whizzing by. Curious, they had all gotten in their cars and followed them. When they got there, they were surprised to see a group of people being rushed into various rooms.

"What's going on?" Derek wondered.

"They're caught in the dreamscape," Cp. Thompson answered.

"What does that mean?" Prentiss asked.

"It means that they can't wake up," Captain Thompson

"W--wait a minute. You're saying they're **all** asleep?" JJ questioned.

"Yeah," Cp. Thompson answered. Then, as a doctor came up, "How's Crusel?"

"We've got his breathing stabilized, but he still seems pretty frightened. Whatever he's dreaming about, it isn't good," the doctor answered.

"Wait, wait, wait. If they're all dreaming, why don't they just wake themselves up?" Derek wondered.

"Because they're trapped, that's why," Cp. Thompson replied. "He's got them all trapped," he continued.

"Okay, Captain. You better explain what the heck's going on…**now**," Rossi instructed.

"Well, since all of my officers are down…I guess I have no choice now," Cp. Thompson responded.

"You're telling us that everyone that was just brought in is a police officer?" Rossi queried.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Cp. Thompson confirmed. _ Kristen looked around at the old house. Why did Krueger always bring her here? It didn't scare her anymore. SCREE! She gasped and turned around._

_"Where are you, Krueger? I know you're here," she declared. There was a throaty chuckle and the man stepped into _view.

_"Brave little Piggy," he sneered. Kristen flipped through the air and knocked Krueger ba_ck. _Alice's brow furrowed in confusion. Why was she in a meadow?_

_"I never used to dream this," she commented. _

_"Alice," a voice called._

_"Dan?" she queried._

_"Alice," the voice called again. She turned around. Was it possible? Was Dan really here?_

_"Dan?" Alice asked._

_"Alice," her one-time boyfriend, Dan Jordan said, appearing in front of her. Eagerly, but tentatively, she stepped forward. _

_"Dan, what are you doing here?" Alice questioned._

_"I had to make sure you and Jacob were all right," Dan said, approaching her._

_"Dan, we're all right," Alice stated. Meanwhile, Jacob was running up a flight of stairs, trying to ignore the pain in his side. __**Mom. I gotta reach Mom**__, he thought to_ _himself._

_"Mom?" he called. In the meadow, Alice's brow furrowed._

_"Jacob?" she questioned. She turned towards the sound and Dan reached for her._

_"Hey, be careful. It could be Krueger trying to trick us," he warned. __**Wait. This isn't right. Dan is dead. Krueger killed him**__, Alice thought to herself. This--this couldn't be Dan. Krueger had killed him while he was riding his motorcycle. But what if it __**was**__ Dan? What if he had come back to protect them?_

_"Mom!" Jacob called again. Alice once again turned to the sound and started for it, but Dan grabbed her wrist._

_"Wait. Be careful, Alice," he cautioned. Suddenly, Jacob appeared in the meadow!_  
_"MOM! THAT'S NOT DAD!" he shouted. Alice yanked away and kicked him away from her. Krueger growled and started for him. In his prison, Kincaid gave a final tug on the bars, which broke apart, and he quickly ran out of the room._

_"Kristen! Joey!" he shouted. In the still-shrinking room, Joey heard his friend's cry._

_"Kincaid?" he asked. Then, he gave a yell of fright as the room grew even smaller. As she ran, Kristen concentrated on the others. They all had to get out of here. _ _Joey gave frightened cries. He put his hands on the ceiling in a futile effort to stop the room from caving in._

_"No. No," he said. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted. _The nurses and doctors screamed in fright as the windows shattered.

"Joey," Cp. Thompson groaned as the BAU looked around in surprise. How had this happened? Almost simultaneously, Rick, Alice, Jacob, Joey, Kincaid, Kristen, Nancy, and Rod jerked awake.

"Whoa. **Way** too close," Joey said in fright, his voice muffled by his oxygen mask.


	7. Wake Up And Dream Victim

SHOUT OUT/ANSWERS

Sue1313: Well, they haven't quite opened up. We'll see.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven, New Line Cinema, and CBS. References to Profiler, Profiled.

Everyone ran into the rooms, and was relieved to find everyone awake.

"Oh, thank God," Cp. Thompson sighed. Joey went to remove his oxygen mask, but the nurse stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't think so, Tiger," she chided

"Aw, Marcie, I'm fine," Joey complained.

"Humor me," Marcie insisted. Joey grumbled, but did as he was told. Cp. Thompson chuckled. _Better than an order. Just use a pretty face_, he thought to himself, remembering his officer's fondness for the fairer sex. Meanwhile, Nancy had climbed out of her bed to check on Kristen and Alice, who were sitting up and looking around in confusion.

"Are you two okay?" Nancy asked.

"Jacob? Where's Jacob?" Alice questioned. Almost immediately, they heard the younger man calling for her. "Jacob!" Alice cried, jumping out of bed and running towards the sound.

"Mom!" Jacob called, running through the halls. Mother and son embraced each other.

"I'm so sorry. I nearly got you killed. I'm so sorry, Jacob," Alice apologized, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay, Mom. I know you miss him," Jacob responded, returning the embrace.

"You were so brave. Your father would be so proud of you," Alice told him.

"I wasn't that brave," Jacob protested.

"You came up and warned me even though Krueger could've really hurt you," Alice answered. "That is one of the bravest things I've ever seen you do. If only your father could've seen it," she continued. Having heard the conversation, Dr. Reid and Prentiss looked at each other in confusion. What were they talking about? Meanwhile, Kincaid and Rick had hurried into Joey's room, who had since removed his oxygen mask, despite Marcie's protests.

"Kincaid. Good to see you up, man," Joey commented.

"Right back at ya, Joey," Kincaid stated.

"What about Kristen? Is she all right?" Joey queried.

"Yeah. Nancy's with her," Kincaid assured. Rick looked at him in confusion. "I just checked in on them," Kincaid continued.

"Good to know," Joey said. Then, looking past Kincaid and Rick, "Hey, guys." The two turned to see Nancy, Kristen, Alice, and Jacob.

"Hey, Joey. How are you feeling?" Kristen questioned.

"I'm all right. What about you guys?" Joey responded.

"A little shaken, but relatively okay," Nancy answered for them all.

"Good," Joey said.

"Whoa. Wait. I'm completely lost here," Derek stated. "How could every one of you be caught in different dreams and then just happen to wake up at the same time?" he continued.

"'Cuz I brought them in and nearly got them killed. It was my fault. I led them right to him. It was all my fault," Kristen said fearfully.

"No way, Little Sister. We knew the risks. And we'd do it again in a heartbeat," Kincaid disagreed.

"That's right. We're a team," Joey agreed. "Besides, you've saved my life ten times over. You think I could do any less?" he continued.

"Same goes for me, Little Sister," Kincaid stated. The other Dream Warriors voiced similar affirmations. The BAU looked at each other, and then stared at the other group.

"What's going on here?" Prentiss wondered.

"Yeah, uh…what exactly happened?" Morgan added.

"Krueger had us. We--we were nearly killed," Kristen answered.

"Who's Krueger?" Morgan demanded. Realizing her slip, Kristen paled.

"N--no one," she answered.

"Listen here, sister, three teens have already died. And I'm not sure why, but this town seems to be covering for the killer," Morgan accused. She slapped him.

"How dare you?" she hissed. "You don't know anything about us--any of us," she continued With that, she spun on her heel and stomped off.

"Jerk," Joey snapped. Then, he and the others followed her out.

"Wow. What was **that** about?" Prentiss wondered.

"Pffft. Got me," Morgan replied. Later that night, the team was back at their hotel. Derek was flipping through the channels when his cell phone rang.

"Go, Baby Girl," he said, pressing the mute button on the remote at the same time.

"Okay, so I did some digging on Springwood, Ohio and I found that in the sixties, there was a rush of kidnappings, molestations, and murders of the town's kids," Garcia reported.

"Dang," Derek breathed. "You find out who did it?" he questioned.

"Well, that was something I had to dig a little deeper to find out," Garcia stated.

"But you did if course," Morgan surmised.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Garcia queried.

"Never, Beautiful," Morgan replied. "So, what'd you find?" he continued.

"All these crimes were committed by a man named Fred Krueger," Garcia answered.

"Kr--Krueger?" Morgan repeated.

"What? You know the name?" Garcia asked in confusion.

"I--heard someone in town say it," Morgan replied. "So you think this Krueger guy is makin' a comeback?" he queried.

"Not unless he's come back from dead," Garcia stated.

"W--wait a minute. He's dead?" Morgan echoed.

"Yeah. According to what I've found, the parents of the kids trapped one Fred Krueger in a boiler room that he used to take his victims, doused it with gasoline, and then lit it up," Garcia informed.

"So, he's dead, huh?" Morgan asked.

"As a doorknob," Garcia confirmed.

"Huh," Morgan mused. Then, "Thanks, Baby Girl."

"No, prob," Garcia answered. They hung up as the others came into the room.

"What's going on?" Dr. Reid asked. Morgan told them what Garcia had found.

"So, wait. The guy we're looking for is dead?" Prentiss queried.

"How is that possible?" JJ wondered.

"A copycat perhaps?" Dr. Reid surmised.

"That's the only logical explanation," Rossi agreed.

"Nothing else would be logical," Prentiss commented. then, Morgan yawned.

"Man, I don't know why I'm so beat," he said.

"Why don't you get some rest? It's been a long day," their commander stated.

"Good idea. I could use a little more sleep myself," Prentiss agreed. With that, they all went to bed. _Morgan looked around. He was in that boiler room again. Why? SCREE! Morgan jumped and whirled around. However, the only thing he saw was steam coming out of a_ _pipe. SCREE!_

"_Where are you?" Morgan demanded, taking out his gun._

"_That won't help you," someone told him in a sing-song_ _voice. _ _Morgan whirled around. Laughter filled the air. The officer turned around again, trying to figure out where the person was._ _A mist filled the air._

"_What the--" Derek wondered. When the mist cleared, the agent found that the surroundings had changed to a cabin. Derek's throat muscles constricted. __**No**__, he thought._

"_Derek?" a voice called. The agent squared his shoulders. There was no way he was gonna give in to this. The ordeal with Carl Buford was over with. He had gotten past it._

"_Derek?" Carl Buford called again. __**No. This isn't happening**__, he thought to_ _himself._

"_Derek?" asked a third time, finally stepping into view. The agent cocked his gun and pulled the trigger. Buford disappeared and the laughter started up again. Without warning, he felt something sharp sink into his back. He screamed. _


	8. Last Fight

SHOUT OUT/ANSWERS

Sue1313: We'll see. Hey, it's their way of life.

DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Wes Craven, New Line Cinema, and CBS. I made up the name of the hotel. I'm not sure how long cuts from razors would take to heal, so I hope I have it accurate even though I gloss over Morgan's recuperation. If not, I apologize.

The hotel was silent until a pained scream filled the air. Rossi, JJ, Hotch, and Prentiss all jerked awake.

"Derek?" Hotch asked, flipping on the light. The man was thrashing on the bed, blood streaking the sheets.

"Oh, my gosh! Call an ambulance!" Hotch cried. JJ pulled out her cell phone and did as she was told.

"9-1-1 emergency," the dispatcher announced.

"This is Agent Emily Prentiss and we need an ambulance at the Fairbanks Hotel, room 107B. One of our agents was just attacked and is very badly wounded," Prentiss told them.

"It's on its way," the dispatch promised. Minutes later, they heard sirens.

"That was pretty fast," Rossi noted.

"You gonna complain?" Hotch questioned.

"No, not really," Rossi answered. Almost immediately, paramedics burst into the room.

"Oh, jeez," one said when they saw Agent Morgan.

"Get him in the ambulance--quickly," another said. This was done and they sprinted away. Without a word, the other agents got into their cars and followed them back to the hospital. _What is going on here?_ Prentiss wondered. Once inside, Derek was rushed into the emergency room. Meanwhile, Cp. Thompson had kept his officers in the hospital for observation. Hearing a commotion, they came out of their rooms and into the hallway.

"What in the world's going on now?" Joey wondered.

"Got me," Rick answered. They saw a stretcher with an African-American man on it being rushed by.

"Wasn't that the agent we just talked to?" Kincaid questioned.

"Yeah, it was," Nancy confirmed. They hurried in the direction of the emergency medical technicians.

"What happened?" Nancy wondered.

"He was attacked by four razors," a paramedic replied. The group looked at each other.

"Krueger," they chorused. Then, seeing Kristen's expression, Joey groaned.

"We just got out," he complained. She fixed him with a look. "All right, all right, all right. Just stop looking at me like that," he griped.

"Take us there, Kristen," Nancy instructed as they all sat down. They all closed their eyes, and concentrated on the dream world. _ They all stood up._

"_Come on, let's go save a cop," Joey sighed. Then, they rushed off. In the boiler room, Derek began to crawl away. _ _He couldn't believe the razors hadn't killed him. But what did this guy want from him? There was a chuckle and Krueger suddenly materialized in front of him._

"_You want to know how I'm doing this, Detective?" he sneered. Derek panted. "It's simple--bait," he continued. The officer scrambled backwards._

"_Hey, Krueger!" he heard someone shout. Krueger's scarred skin became even more horrible as he broke into a grin. _

"_Warriors," he uttered. _ _He telekinetically pulled Derek closer. The officer groaned and tried to get away._ _When that didn't work, he reached for his gun._ _Krueger waved a finger warningly and the gun disintegrated._

"_Wha--" Derek gasped. How was this possible? Krueger laughed sinisterly and continued to pull his victim along. The group panted as they hurried along the boiler room._

"_Anyone see anything?" Nancy questioned. Everyone shook their heads, and then Kristen froze._

"_What is it?" Rod asked._

"_He's heavy to the left," Kristen answered._

"_Let's go," Kincaid stated._ _ They quickened their pace as they turned left. Hearing pounding feet, the BAU agent tried to look up, but he was unable to do so. Krueger laughed darkly and mentally lifted Morgan into the air._

"_Look!" Alice cried, pointing._

"_What is he doing?" Jacob wondered. _

"_Want him? Come and get him!" Krueger taunted. Then, he flung him through the air. Morgan grunted in pain as he hit a wall. Alice's eyes darkened and she let fire envelop her hand._ _Then, she tossed the fire at Krueger. The BAU officer started to fall to the ground._

"_I got him," Rick assured. _

"_Right behind you," Kristen added. They flipped through the air and then quickly caught him. Krueger was knocked back and he stared at Alice, eyes wide. _

"_You all right?" Kristen asked._

"_I think I'll live," Derek wheezed. Then, "What's with __**him**__?" They turned to see Krueger, surprisingly frozen in fear. __**What the--?**__ they thought. Then, they saw what had his attention: Alice's hand of fire. She reared back her arm for another attack._

"_HIT THE DECK!" Rick shouted, pulling the other two to the floor._ _ There was a WHOOSH! and Derek could feel an intense heat filling the room. The officer peeked up to see the man engulfed in flames and the room starting to be so._

"_KRISTEN, GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!" he heard someone shout. _ Derek gasped and jerked awake.

"Derek!" Prentiss shouted in relief.

"Man, that was some trip," Derek moaned. In the hallway, the group awoke.

"Okay, could we never cut it that close again?" Joey requested as they all picked themselves up.

"Yeah, I heard **that**," Kincaid agreed.

"Sorry," Kristen apologized.

"Come on. I wanna see if that guy's okay," Rod commented. They walked into the room.

"Hey, how you holding up?" Rod asked.

"Man, how can you guys be so calm? I mean--that guy nearly killed us. If you hadn't stopped him--" Derek started to say.

"We haven't stopped him," Nancy interrupted.

"What?" Derek questioned.

"At least…not for good. He **always** comes back," Kristen added.

"That's why we keep it to ourselves. So it doesn't get out of Springwood," Rod stated.

"Yeah, I can only imagine the chaos he could cause if he grew even stronger than he was," Derek said. Just then, a doctor came in.

"How are you feeling?" he questioned.

"Well, like I told them, I'll live," came the answer.

"That's good. We managed to get to your wounds pretty early on, so you'll only have to stay for a week," the doctor told him.

"Wait. I'm stuck here for a week?" Derek questioned.

"Oh, come on. I bet it goes by fast," Emily assured him. She turned out to be right. A week **did** go by fast. When Derek was finally released, they all went to their plane and boarded.

"All right, all right. Easy now," Prentiss said, helping him along. He pulled out of her grasp.

"Prentiss, I appreciate the concern and help, but I got it," he told her. Then, he went to sit down, and the others did the same. The pilot started the plane, and headed for home.

THE END


End file.
